The Best Of The Forbes Under 30 Summit—Including Billionaire Advice, Matt Rife’s 12-Year Journey And A $300,000 Prize

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This past week at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Cleveland, Ohio was nothing short of experiential: Thousands of attendees were given the opportunity to hear from the best and brightest—and some of the youngest—minds in business, and of course, the opportunity to network and make meaningful connections.

Networking is actually key to building successful businesses, or at least that’s what Austin Russell, a 2018 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry lister who became the world’s youngest billionaire at age 25, told the crowd when he kicked off the Summit’s first panel on Monday. (Russell also spoke to his future purchase of Forbes Media Holdings, which should close this year).

He wasn’t the only one with insider tips on ways young entrepreneurs could grow their businesses. Pinky Cole, the founder of restaurant chain Slutty Vegan, advised everyone in the audience to always “shoot your shot,” but learn that it’s okay to hear no and pivot from there. Cole also hosted a book signing for her latest release, “I Hope You Fail,” which discusses how to rebound from tough choices and screw-ups.

Speaking of books, Rainn Wilson, known for his role as “Dwight” from The Office, took to the Under 30 stage to talk all about his new book, “Soul Boom,” and walked the crowd through his personal journey of finding peace in a chaotic industry. He also sat backstage with Forbes’ Diane Brady to talk about the power of comedy before doing his own book signing.

There were a lot of powerful moments (and powerful people) sharing their stories for the thousands of attendees to hear. One of our favorites would have to be Matt Rife, a Forbes Top Creator who went from wannabe comedian to now earning $25 million a year, according to Forbes estimates. He took audience members through his 12-year journey—much of which was defined by not knowing if or when another opportunity would come at all.

One other theme this year? Giving back. Reggaeton rapper Bad Bunny hosted a Latinx Pitch Competition, where five entrepreneurs presented their best ideas for a $300,000 prize. Jaime Castro, the cofounder of a mental health platform called Selia that aims to connect the Spanish-speaking community with Spanish-speaking therapists, won over the judges with a pitch that shined a light on how many Latin Americans go without mental health services each year.

For more details on the opening concert with Latto and Under 30 alum Halsey to conversations with Kendall Jenner, Machine Gun Kelly and Alix Earle, take a look at our live blog and full recap here.

Until next week,

Forbes Top Creators: Fashion 50, The Millionaire Tastemakers Of TikTok, Instagram And YouTube

2021 Under 30 lister Emma Chamberlain topped the list with her arsenal of 28 million followers, Forbes-estimated $20 million in 2022 earnings and partnerships with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Levi’s and Aritzia. Take a look at the following 49 most influential fashion creators.

Creator Corner

Happy TokTober! This month, the Under 30 newsletter will highlight the many ways listers are using social media to grow their brands.

Today we’re joined by Jake Karls, 2023 Under 30 Food & Drink lister and the cofounder of Mid-Day Squares, a vegan chocolate brand whose secret sauce is sharing the nitty gritty details and behind the scenes of everyday life at the company on social media. Mid-Day Squares has more than 200,000 followers and 5 million likes on TikTok, helping the company reach $15 million in revenue last year.

The following has been slightly edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to showcase the good, bad and ugly of your entrepreneurial journey on social media? Since day 1, our goal was to build fans rather than customers. We knew that if we wanted to win the chocolate game, then we needed to build a real friendship with our fans. We needed more than just a good product to win. We had 1/100th of their marketing budgets. By sharing the good, the bad and the ugly of how we build our business allowed us to be different and to win the customer by emotionally connecting. We were showcasing the unfiltered version of entrepreneurship on social media, like a reality show.

How do you include Mid-Day Squares in your content without it looking like an ad? We focus on telling a story rather than selling. Our ads don’t focus on our product features or benefits. By doing that, we invite you into our ecosystem rather than force you into it by selling you.

What can you say about the community you’ve built online? Who are they, where are they from, what are they most interested in? Our community is what helped us build our business. Our community has helped us raise capital, open up new retailers, secure new team members and much more. They have been with us throughout the entire journey. They’re our friends!

What’s the most important part of your social media strategy when it comes to brand growth? The most important part is that we make our community feel something deeply when we post our content. Our strategy is to add value and evoke emotions. We don’t post content for the sake of posting content. By doing this, we build a strong community that cares and trusts the brand deeply.

What’s the biggest downfall to using social media for business? The biggest downfall for us is that we’re unapologetically ourselves and very transparent on social media. The internet trolls come out to play. Some folks say some really nasty things. The other downfall of showing the good, the bad and the ugly of how we build our business on social media gives lots of insights to competitors of ours. In the end, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

One crucial piece of advice for brands that struggle in resonating with an internet audience? Always be unapologetically yourself, whether you’re a brand or an individual. The moment you start trying to be someone else is the moment you start failing. Companies can copy your product but they can’t copy your story or how you make them feel.

Find Mid-Day Squares here.